M5.3 earthquake 28 km SW of Illapel, Chile
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 28 km SW of Illapel, Chile on Tue, Sep 21, 1971, 4:51 PM GMT-4 (20:51 UTC), 57 km (35 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 47 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1971-09-21 20:51:18 UTC
- Depth
- 56.9 km (35.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 31.838° S, 71.346° W
- Region
- Chile
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.28
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem780503. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC.